one of two matching early 1880s john edelmann-designed cast iron exterior building tie-rod rosettes

single historically important original john edelmann-designed ornamental cast iron exterior commercial building tie-rod rosette executed by the union foundry works, chicago, ills. design elements are similar to sullivan's early work during the 1880's (e.g., rosenfeld, revell, and rothschild building). the centrally located web motif was a distinctive design element used by both architects during the 1880's. john h. edelmann was an architect in the office of alfred zucker, a successful commercial architect of the 1880’s and 1890’s in new york city. as an architect, edelmann's sole surviving building is the former headquarters of the decker brothers piano company, the decker building (1893), at 33 union square west, new york. notable chicago architect louis sullivan was influenced by his work with edelmann and credits edelmann's concept of "suppressed function" with the inspiration for his maxim, "form follows function," a watchword of modernism. before coming to new york, edelmann had worked as a draughtsman for the chicago architects william lebaron jenney and dankmar adler. it was edelmann who introduced the young louis sullivan to adler, with whom he formed a partnership. the late prof. donald egbert of princeton indicates that edelmann came to new york in 1886 to work in the mayoral campaign of henry george, the most influential proponent of the "single tax" on land, also known as the land value tax. edelmann worked in the offices of alfred zucker from 1891 to 1893.